Time for President Obama to back up his words on climate crisis with action

Last year’s record heat, prolonged drought, and subsequent fire season were a wake-up call for Coloradans concerned about the climate crisis. President Obama, too, has taken notice of climate disruption. He took the issue head on in both his inaugural address and State of the Union speech, expressing resolve to take bold administrative action if congress fails to move. But what would bold action on climate look like, and what would that mean for us in Colorado?

There are five things the president could do right now to create a safer, healthier planet for our children, and establish his legacy as a climate leader.

1. President Obama needs to hold fossil fuel polluters accountable for their dangerous byproducts. Colorado is already leading the way in fostering renewable, clean energy, and the Administration should direct the Environmental Protection Agency to propose new standards that would control carbon pollution from coal plants like Craig on the Western Slope or Martin Drake in downtown Colorado Springs.

Keeping polluters accountable is a necessity which promotes creative innovation, like reforming federal lending rules to enable homeowners to pay for energy upgrades through their property taxes. For this, the president’s nomination to replace outgoing EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson with Gina McCarthy is a step in the right direction.

2. The president should reject proposals to import dirty fuels and to stop the rush of fossil-fuel exports. Let’s keep Colorado’s natural heritage of carbon fuels, coal, and natural gas in the ground where it belongs, instead risking shipping it to China. In addition, national projects like the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline have no place in America’s energy future.

3. President Obama can double down on clean energy. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, since 2008 wind energy grew by nearly 250 percent and solar energy by about 444 percent in the electric power sector. January of this year marked the first time that renewable energy (wind, solar and geothermal) comprised 100 percent of the country’s new energy sources coming online. The president can use administrative actions to continue this growth, making it easier to invest in renewable energy and efficiency. This can be done through exploring innovative financing avenues, embracing environmentally responsible clean energy projects on public lands. This will mean cleaner air and water, lower electricity bills, and more jobs for Colorado residents.

4. The president needs to work with the Environmental Protection Agency and FEMA to protect communities from extreme climate-fueled disasters and prepare a robust and equitable response. As we saw with hundreds of homes burned down in Colorado, or in the aftermath of the superstorm Sandy, America needs a national climate-resilience plan that helps create strong and sustainable communities, infrastructure, and ecosystems.

5. President Obama can work to protect our lands, water, and wildlife from the impacts of fossil fuel development and climate change. This means stopping the rush to expand oil and gas drilling, coal mining, and dirty fuels development; reforming the Department of Interior coal leasing program to stop undervaluing our natural heritage; and protecting the Arctic Refuge, Outer Continental Shelf, and our national parks.

President Obama was right to say, “If Congress won’t act soon to protect future generations, I will.” He can take all of these steps without trying to get the support of Congress. And he can do all this because a growing majority of Americans share his belief that “for the sake of our children and our future, we must do more to combat climate change.”

Now is the time for President Obama to establish his climate and clean energy legacy. He must throw the full weight of his office behind a national platform that takes on climate disruption, which is already threatening our economy and communities. Through the generations, the American spirit has confronted crisis after crisis with ingenuity and leadership — we never back away from a challenge. It is time for President Obama to confront the climate crisis now — for the benefit of all Americans, and for future generations.

David Ellenberger is Regional Outreach Coordinator for the National Wildlife Federation in Boulder. Bryce Carter is Associate Organizing Representative for the Sierra Club in Denver.

Vincent Carroll is The Denver Post's editorial page editor. He has been writing commentary on politics and public policy in Colorado since 1982 and was originally with the Rocky Mountain News, where he was also editor of the editorial pages until that newspaper gave up the ghost in 2009.

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